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While I have no problem with being big, I got tired of being fat, so five weeks ago I decided to restart my own fitness program by counting calories and doing some form of exercise with regularity. Two years ago I lost about 40 pounds doing exactly the same, so I know it is possible if I set myself a schedule and follow it through. Having climbed back up to 351 pounds, I simply had to, period.

The day I was to start my exercise routine, I woke up with some minor back pain that got exacerbated during the day, so instead of doing the boot camp video I had planned, instead I did the intro to yoga one. Now, for years my wife has been trying to get me to do yoga. I had nothing against it, but didn’t think it was for me. I pretty much actively refused to even consider it, probably getting derisive at times as well. I guess it’s all about timing. After doing this 1-hour introductory routine I was beat: my muscles ached, I was sweaty and breathing as if I’d run a mile. Furthermore, the pain in my back was gone, and I felt great. I decided I would do it again the next day.

That was 5 weeks ago, and I’ve done that routine pretty much every day since. I dusted off my yoga mat, got myself a strap to help with some poses, and have been reading up on yoga topics in a way which my wife charmingly calls obsessive. I do this.

At some point last year, while I was traveling back and forth between Miami and Puerto Rico, we decided to make a significant change to our diets. We keep kosher, so that overrides everything, but beyond that, we made a conscious decision and effort to start eating both locally and organic as much as possible, both for our own health and for the general benefit of the world. When we moved to our new apartment, among the things we downsized in order to make the move easier and get rid of some clutter, was the microwave. That was in November and rarely in the last seven months have we honestly wished we had one; breakfast may take a little longer to prepare, and I’m probably one of few who has four burners going at 7 AM, but it’s not an impossibility. We’ve learned that we enjoy a lot of foods we used to microwave a lot more now that we actually cook them. Along with this switch we decided to do our best to increase our rate of exercise, though this one has been a far more inconsistent resolution.

However, the simple truth is that in the last year I was at one point at the heaviest I’ve been in my life, clocking in at 360 lbs. I am not that weight right now, but I’m also not that much better: I’m 346 lbs as of Wed, June 30, 2010. Clearly something needs to change.